Studied a way of constraining feature centrality, the causal status of features in a category through 6 experiments involving 204 undergraduate students. Results show that the causal status effect is deeply rooted in many aspects of the categorization process. Causal knowledge is shown to affect categorization by determining feature centrality.…

Proposes a coherence hypothesis that integrates both the "power" and "covariational" views of how people distinguish genuine causes from spurious ones. Results of 2 experiments involving 96 and 56 undergraduates support the hypothesis. Discusses the place of coherence within causal inference. (SLD)

The current studies explore causal models of heart attack and depression generated from American healers whom use distinct explanatory frameworks. Causal chains leading to two illnesses, heart attack and depression, were elicited from participant groups: registered nurses (RNs), energy healers, RN energy healers, and undergraduates. The…